


Retrouvaille

by greentofu11



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, 進撃の巨人 | Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-28 03:34:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20057341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greentofu11/pseuds/greentofu11
Summary: "My name's Erwin. Just... Erwin."The blonde little boy clutched his slum cloak while munching the small piece of bread given by the raven haired man. His thought wondered, why in the world a soldier like him even bother to give away his money for a filthy homeless kid. But the man didn't say a word, the presence of this kid was enough to comfort him before he depart to Marley."Erwin, huh? That... Is a beautiful name." The soldier said. The boy paused and look up to the older man, only to receive a very vague smile from him."I'm Levi. It's a pleasure to meet you, Erwin."





	Retrouvaille

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place before Levi and the squads depart to Marley and rescue Eren.
> 
> WARNING : CONTAIN SPOILERS FROM THE MANGA

_It's been 4 years._

_4 years since the battle to retrieve wall Maria._

_4 years since the secret of the titan world revealed entirely._

_4 years since the Survey Corps finally went into expedition outside the walls again._

_And of course, 4 years since Levi lost his one and only liege._

**-XxX-**

  
"Levi? Going out for a night ride again?"

The 14th commander of the Survey Corps called a certain raven haired man in front of the HQ's main door, his hand already turned the door knob and slightly opened the wooden barrier between him and outside view, allowing cold breeze streak through the small opening. The man who is often known as the Humanity's Strongest sighed in annoyance and turned to her, brows furrowed. "Don't play dumb with me, Four-eyes. You know I always have my own routine before expedition." He said bluntly. His usual lazy expression plastered on his face.

Hanji chuckled and leaned back against the wall, trying to break the tension between them. After all, the meeting to depart to Marley that she held earlier was indeed mentally exhausting. "Yeah, but you don't have to bring Victoria along with you every night though. Is there any reason for you to bring her?" She asked out of the blue, referring to the one and only white stallion in the Survey Corps' stable. Which unfortunately, can't be tamed by anyone during the last 4 years since she lost her master, except for Levi himself.

Levi just froze on his feet, very reluctant to answer the question. His brows still furrowed and his hand didn't move an inch from the door knob. How come Hanji knows that he brought along that white stallion every time he went outside at night before expedition? She must've thought he lost his sanity, bringing two stallion for a night ride with no person riding the elegant white one. Levi clicked his tongue and turned back towards the door without thinking twice, the cold breeze brushed against his pale skin the moment that huge door opened entirely.

"I just thought it feels right by bringing her along. Also, the more the merrier, isn't it?" He finally said, answering the commander's question. "I'll get going now, see ya after sunrise."

As the main door closed and the humanity's strongest disappeared from her sight, Hanji didn't move a single inch. A sense of guilt quickly came to her. Her chest suddenly felt heavy again, the same feeling she had 4 years ago on that rooftop in Shiganshina. She sighed irritatedly, locking her gaze to the door where the small man stood earlier.

_'Levi, I know you're still in grief. Aren't you?'_

**-XxX-**

**[Artist : @a1dou3 (twitter)]**

  
"Aah... It's so damn cold... Where the hell do these cold air come from anyway?"

Levi slightly yawned and tightened up his cloak, covering his head with it as he spurred his black stallion side by side with the white one along wall Maria towards wall Rose. He never actually liked the idea of getting out at night, the cold breeze always makes him complaint every time it brushed against his skin. If only the person who suggested this idea in the first place was here, he'd lecture him all night long from Maria to Sina and all the way back to the HQ and usually replied by an innocent laugh that made him popped a nerve.

Unfortunately, Levi has no time to think about what he had lost. At least, that's what he thought. This is one of the good memories Levi had and he wanted to recall it as many times as he could while he's still breathing.

It was a quiet ride along the way. Quiet enough that the sound of crickets and birds chirping can be heard by the raven haired man. He enjoyed the landscape view in silence as if that was the last time he saw such peaceful atmosphere in his life. He shut his eyes for a moment, feeling the cold breeze slowly turned warmer as he rode. Unconsciously, he gazed up and opened his eyes to the night sky full of stars above, that strangely shone brighter than any other night he ever saw. The black pupils in that grey iris turned wider for a second before it got back to its original size. Levi sighed and a very vague smile formed on his lips without him realizing it.

"Are you seeing this, Erwin? The stars shine brighter than usual tonight. Heh, If you were here, I bet you're going to tell me all those stupid constellation theory of yours." He suddenly said, more to himself. "But not this time, stupid eyebrows." Averting his gaze from the sky, his eyes met with the white stallion beside him as a short silence filled the atmosphere before he parted his lips once again.

"Also, you're strangely quiet submissive tonight though." He continued, this time towards Victoria. "Anything new happened to you today?" He asked out of the blue, before he actually realized a dumbass question just came out from his stupid mouth.

"Ugh, for fuck's sake. And now I'm talking to a goddamn horse." He huffed and instantly held his temples in disbelief. "Maybe I really am losing my sanity."

**-xXx-**

After a long ride, the starry sky view sadly has to end the moment Levi entered the final part of the walls. He slowed his pace down as he rode along inside wall Sina, passing through rows of tall buildings that he rarely found in wall Rose and Maria. He slightly looked up before turned his gaze back to the streets in front of him, hoping to see the starry sky again. But among those buildings surrounding him, it's almost impossible for him to see that view again. With an irritated sigh, he continued on.

Even when it was getting late, some people still went on with their activities inside the walls. Even some of the marketplace still open and people were just busy doing their own businesses. Which made Levi frowned at how these people in this part of the wall are more concerned about their economic value instead of having a good night sleep. Now he rode in a very slow pace, at the same time trying to avoid bunch of people who's getting in the way. The raven haired man clicked his tongue as his mood became even worse than before. The only thing he wanted that time was to finish the ride and return to the HQ as soon as possible. As the time passed by, a tiny sense of relief came to him the moment he reached a less crowded area.

"Damn it. Glad that was over. Why the hell are those morons still doing this late in the marketplace anyway? Stupid dickheads." With an amazingly bad mood, he was about to leave that part of the wall when something suddenly caught his attention. At the end of the road before his eyes, he found two dim torches illuminated a small yet dark entrance between them. With two military police guarding the entrance only accompanied by two glasses of beer on a dusty crate. Levi turned his gaze towards the signboard on top of the entrance. The writing was already faded but fortunately he could still read what's written on it.

"Underground City."

A long silence suddenly enveloped the atmosphere.

It's not the first time Levi had passed that place in his night ride routine. In fact, he told himself several times to never go back to that filthy place which can cause the smell of gutter and garbage stuck to his clothes if he actually go down there again. But this time, there's a strange feeling rose inside of him. He had a feeling that he must go this time. No matter what. And the urge of doing that slowly increased the more he hold himself back. After a few consideration, he got off of his black stallion and guided the two stallions towards the entrance. "It seems that you guys have to wait here for awhile." He mumbled. "Having a quick look to the past isn't that bad, right?"

Reaching his pocket, he took out 5 pieces of gold coins as he approach the military police in front of the dark small entrance. "Oi, wake up you damn bastards." With a slight annoyance, he kicked one of the soldiers on the hip. Causing him to jolt out from his short sleep.

"C-Captain Levi!" The man quickly stood up in surprise, and Levi could still smell the wreak of alcohol from him.

"Slacking off in duty, huh? Wow, what a surprise. Just wait till your superiors hear about this."

"N-No wait. It's not what it looks like, Sir. I-I can explain!" The man said with a stutter as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh yeah? How about your friend over there? I bet he can explain everything to me." Levi said bluntly and pointed his index finger to the other military police. Who seemed to have a very nice dream since he was drooling and smiling all the way.

"W-Well I... Uh..."

"I thought so." He cut his words unchalantly and put back the gold coins into his pocket. "How about we make a deal then?"

The man raised one of his brows in confusement. But at the same time also incredibly nervous since he realized that he's talking to the Humanity's Strongest soldier.

"Let me enter the Underground City for free and look out for my horses. And I won't tell your superior about you slacking off." Levi said stoically.

The man didn't instantly reply as if he's looking for an answer.

"Or... You want me to turn around and report this to the higher ups?"

"N-No, Sir! I-I'll be very glad to accept the offer." He finally said which made Levi smirked vaguely.

"Good. Now take care of these two when I'm not around."

"Yes Sir!"

"Oh and one more thing." The small man paused before he could land his feet on the first rung. "Don't ever let anybody know that I come to this place. Got it?"

"U-Understood, Sir."

**-xXx-**

The long passage to the Underground was even darker than the last time he remembered. But even so, Levi kept moving forward along the dark alley until his eyes finally caught a glimpse of light which made his black orbs narrowed for a split second. And finally he was there, once again. The Underground City.

Levi took a deep breath as he averted his gaze to his surroundings. The city was pretty much the same from the last time he saw it. Dozens of lights from the villagers houses were the only things that lightened up the city. The slight unpleasant scent of gutter quickly got replaced by smells of fresh cooking from several houses downtown. The raven haired man had a quick look to his surroundings before finally continue on his track towards the Underground central.

"Such a nostalgic view, isn't it?" He mumbled.

**-xXx-**

The Underground City central was pretty much the same for Levi. Lots of merchants from the surface nor the underground gathered here, ignoring the fact that sometimes they really don't give a shit about business hours. The Captain just walk around a certain marketplace with no specific purpose. He visited some stores, looking at some of the things that were catching his attention with no single intention in buying it. He lost count at how many times he sighed in annoyance at some of the merchants' impertinent behavior compared to those on the surface.

"Oi!! Stop it right there, you dirty street rat!!!"

"Somebody stop him! That thing isn't cheap! You have to pay for it!"

"Don't let him get away!"

Suddenly a group of men bumped into the raven haired man as they ran in full speed while trying to catch up a certain thief who seemed to steal one of their belongings. Levi stole a glance at one of the merchant's crate filled with goods which he presume was the goods that the thief stole. Fresh fruits, from the surface. Quite expensive for this kind of environment.

**-xXx-**

As he ran and ran, all the people around him kept shouting 'Thief' over and over which made the situation even more difficult for him to handle. He held the fruits tight in his arms as he swiftly ran passed all the people in the crowded marketplace, he ran over and under lots of stands and carts, and sometimes he took a quick look to those men who's coming after him from behind. A slight smirk formed on his lips as he realized that he increased the distance between them.

"Split up! We'll catch him for sure!"

He heard one of the man said. But he had no time to think nor to hide, the only thing that comes to his mind was to fulfill his grumbling stomach that tortured him for 3 days straight. He took a turn at one of the alley and speed up his pace.

"Where do you think you're going, little guy?"

One of the pursuers finally caught up to him and blocked his one and only way out. The boy froze on his feet, trying to figure out another escape route but with no results. Shortly after, the other men who was after him has arrived as well. He's trapped.

"You know you have to pay for those, right?" The tallest man of the three stepped forward with a big smirk plastered on his face. He started to roll his arm sleeve and showing off his fist towards the small thief. "I think this is a good time for us to teach you a lesson." He added.

"Y-You wouldn't dare to beat me up." The boy finally speak up, still protecting the fruits in his arms.

"Hee? Is that so? And what makes you think that way, street rat?" The other man, a little more stocky than the others gave the thief a mocking face while rubbing his beard arrogantly.

"Because... I won't give you any money, nor give these back to you. Also the Military Police station is not far from here, if they hear any commotion around sooner or later they'll come to this place." He exclaimed confidently, slightly raised his stolen goods, hoping to appear slightly intimidating. "And if they find out you guys are beating up a child... You know how it will end."

The three men exchange glances as a short silent suddenly enveloped the atmosphere before they burst out in laughter not long after.

"HAHAHAHA!!! Now that's cute! Who would've thought a scrawny little street rat like you actually have the guts to say that?!" The pursuers finally moved their feet, closing the gap between them and the little boy who tried to do his best to hide his shivers. The tallest man leaned down at him and pulled his cloak, almost choking the boy, but not strong enough to made him let go of the stolen goods.

"Well, maybe you're right. We won't gain anything from you." The man said as he suddenly land out his punch towards the thief's gut, making him flinch and cried in pain, fresh fruits fell onto the ground, "But we'll definitely have fun beating you up like an old sand bag. Screw the Military Police! They wouldn't give a damn for a street rat like you!" Another punch landed on the little boy's cheek as he fell.

The three men continued beating him up mercilessly, punching and kicking the boy's abdomen, arms and legs non stop. The poor little thief had no other choice but to stay on the ground, folding his body as best as he could to defend himself and stay conscious. It went on for a couple minutes but it felt like hours for him, tears started running out from his eyes. He screamed for help but no one can hear him from that small alley. When he thought he was going to pass out, the commotion stopped.

It all went incredibly fast, before he realized it, the three men had collapsed on the ground and were battered. Even their condition looks worse than him.

"Don't you dickheads have another job to do besides beating up a child?" a stranger's voice suddenly said, it's sharp tone echoing throughout the alley, catching the boy's attention as he slowly averted his gaze from the ground towards the stranger.

"Y-You are... L-Levi!! From the Survey Corps!!"

"W-What the hell are you doing in a place like this?"

The three men stuttered as their eyes widen in fear. The raven haired man stepped towards them as his sharp gaze made shivers down their spines. He looked down at the three who were battered and took his fist out of his cloak. They instinctively closed their eyes in shock, expecting another punch or kick but instead, a small pouch of silver landed in front of them.

"Take that shit and get the fuck out of here."

**-xXx-**

**To be continued**


End file.
